Pears are the fruit of the pear tree.

• botanical information
• selection
• storage
• magick correspondences and uses
• Goddesses and deities
• Chinese herbology

botanical information:

    Botanical name: Prunus communis

    Common name: pear

    Use the botanical name when ordering seeds (bulbs, etc.) or when looking up information in the library. Common names vary by nation, culture, and region, and sometimes the same common name is applied to different plants.

    Common varieties:

• Alexander Lucas
• Anjou
• Bartlett (also called William Bon Cretien; also called Williams)
• Beurre Hardy
• Blanquilla (also called Blanca de Aranjuez)
• Buerre Bosc (also called Bosc)
• Buerre d’Hardenpont
• Clairgeau
• Clapps Liebling
• Clara Frijs
• Conference
• Cure
• Deviolen
• Doyenne du Comice (also called Comice)
• Duchesse d’Angouleme
• Easter Buerre
• Elliot
• Hardy
• Josephine
• Jules Guyot (also called Limonera)
• Keiffer
• Louise Bonne d’Avranches
• Packham’s Triumph
• Passe Crassane
• Precore de Trevoux
• Winter Cole
• Winter Nelis

selection:

    Reason to choose organic:
    Pear has the number ten (10) highest pesticide load of 45 common fruits and vegetables studied in 2006 by the Environmental Working Group and is therefore a prime candidate for switching to organic. The EWA explains, “While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.”
    According to USDA and FDA tests on commercially grown foods collected between 2000 and 2005, pear has a 86.2% (percentage) of samples tested with detectable pesticides, a 45.7% (percentage) of samples with two or more pesticides, a 1.6 average number of pesticides found in a sample, an average of 0.586 parts per million of all pesticides found, and 33 different pesticides found in use growing pears. These toxic pesticides don’t apply to organic foods.

storage:

    Storage: Eat pears within a week (seven days) of purchase.

magickal correspondences and uses:

    Western element: water

    Magickal uses: enthusiasm, lust, zeal

deities associated with pears:

• Athena (Greek Goddess)

Chinese herbalism:

    Chinese gender: yin (cool)

    Chinese flavor: slightly sweet

See also: herbs.

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